Summary of Native American Tribes - "C"

Native American Tribes - C - Page 6

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Chippewa - Also known as the Ojibway, Ojibwe, Ojibwe, and Anishinaabe, the Chippewa tribe are one of the largest and most powerful nations, having nearly 150 different bands throughout their original homeland in the northern United States (especially Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) and southern Canada (especially Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.) In the woodlands, Ojibway people lived in villages of small round buildings called waginogan, or wigwams. On the Great Plains, the Ojibway people lived in teepees so that could easily pick and move following the buffalo.

Chiricahua - The Chiricahua "great mountain” Apache were called such for their former mountain home in Southeast Arizona. They, however, called themselves Aiaha. The most warlike of the Arizona Indians, their raids extended into New Mexico, southern Arizona, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Some of their most noted leaders included among their most noted leaders being Cochise, Victorio, Loco, Chato, Naiche, Bonito, Mangas Coloradas, and Geronimo. More ...

Chitimacha - Dwelling along the delta of the Mississippi River of south-central Louisiana, the Chitmacha lived in framed houses made of poles covered with leaves or mud, with thatched roofs. Agriculture provided the majority of their diet. To enhance their appearance, the Chitimacha flattened the foreheads of their male children. Socially, the Chitimacha were divided into matrilineal (descent traced through the mother) totemic (named for an animal) clans.

Choctaw - This Muskogean tribe, also known as Chakchiuma, or Chatot, traces its roots to the Mississippi Valley and some parts of Alabama. The Choctaw were one of the first of the "Five Civilized Tribes" to reluctantly accept expulsion from their native lands and move to Oklahoma. Although their history included a long alliance with the government of the United States and they even served under then General Andrew Jackson, when time came to move the Choctaw westward, they received no consideration from the government. As part of the "Trail of Tears" the Choctaw lost almost twenty five percent of their people to disease, starvation and predatory whites during the long march. More ...

Choula - This was a small tribe of 40 individuals who lived on the Yazoo River in Mississippi. Their name means "fox" in Chickasaw and Choctaw.

Chowanoc - An Algonquian tribe formerly living on Chowan River in northeast North Carolina, about the junction of Meherrin and Nottoway Rivers. They were said to have been a sedentary hunter/farmer tribe who spoke the Powhatan language. In 1584-85, when first known, they were the leading tribe in that region. One village called Ohanoak was said to have 700 warriors. They gradually dwindled away and by 1701 were reduced to a single village on Bennetts Creek. They joined in the Tuscarora War against white settlers in 1711-12, and at its close, the remnant, estimated at about 240, were assigned a small reservation on Bennetts and Catherine Creeks. By 1820 they had been entirely absorbed into the Tuscarora tribe.

Chumash - A linguistic family who traditionally lived on the coast of south California, who were also known also as Santa Barbara Indians. There were seven dialects of the Chumashan family. All were fairly similar except the San Luis Obispo, which stood apart. Evidence was found, showing that they have had settlements on the Channel Islands and Santa Monica Mountains as far back as thousands of years ago. There were at one time over 20,000 Chumash living along the California coastline. The historic Chumash were a maritime culture, using long wooden canoes called tomols to fish and travel between different villages along the Pacific coast. They also hunted and gathered to provide for themselves.

They were first visited by Europeans as early as 1542, when Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo spent some time in their territory, meeting with an exceedingly friendly reception. More explorers followed and five missions were established by the Franciscans among the Chumash; those of San Luis Obispo, San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, Purísima, and Santa Inez, from 1771 to 1804. The missionaries met with little opposition and no forcible resistance. However, some of the bands begin to resist missionary ruling and in 1824, the Indians at Santa Barbara, Santa Inez, and Purísima revolted against the mission authority, though there was no loss of life. Their grass houses were dome-shaped and often 50 feet or more in diameter and each was inhabited by several families.

Even during mission times the Chumash decreased greatly in numbers and continued to decrease as more and more white settlers moved into their lands. By 1900, their numbers had declined to just 200. However, several bands continue to exist today, though they have no reservation lands. Only the Samala, or Santa Ynez Chumash, have received federal recognition. However, there are an estimated 5,000 people who identify themselves as Chumash.

Clackama - A Chinookan tribe formerly occupying several villages on the Clackamas Alaska River, in Clackamas County, Oregon. In 1806 Lewis and Clark estimated their number at 1,800. They also claimed the country on the east side of Willamette River from a few miles above its mouth nearly to Oregon City and east as far as the Cascade Mountains. This territory they ceded to the United States by the Dayton Treaty of 1855 and were later removed to Grande Ronde Reservation, Oregon, where they were said to number about 60. Their descendants today belong to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.

Clatskanie - Belonging to the Athapascan linguistic stock, they lived on the prairies bordering Chehalis River, Washington, at the mouth of Skookumchuck River. However, when game became scarce, they crossed the Columbia River and occupied the mountains about Clatskanie River. For a long time they exacted toll of all who passed going up or down the Columbia River. They were estimated to have numbered 1,600 in 1780 but by 1851, they had been reduced to less than a dozen.

Clatsop - A Chinookan tribe they formerly about C. Adams on the south side of the Columbia River and extending up the river as far as Tongue Point and south along the coast to Tillamook Head, Oregon. In 1806, Lewis and Clark estimated them to be about 200. In an 1851 treaty, the Clatsop tribe ceded 90 percent of their land to the U.S. Government. This treaty was one of many in the Northwest that were never ratified by Congress. Unlike other tribes, the members were not required to move to a reservation, and in fact, they were the only tribe in Oregon that was not removed to a reservation. Today, there are about 200 members who have recently organized as the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederation. The members are scattered across Oregon and southwestern Washington.

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